Bar Bacetto
Italian restaurant · Waitsburg ·
Handmade pasta, focaccia, and seasonal dishes served nightly
Handmade pasta, focaccia, and seasonal dishes served nightly
"The chef and owner of now-closed Seattle pasta legend Il Corvo moved a few hours east to open this spot in Waitsburg—and it's mandatory to plan dinner here. See the chalkboard menu? Just order the whole damn lot. There’s focaccia so dense and moist it could stand in for birthday cake, paper-thin mortadella, and quilted ravioli filled with feta and doused in jammy sungold pulp. It’s not easy to get into this 18-seat stunner, but the hassle becomes worth it when you’re sucked into a happy vortex caused by overconsumption of semolina. Let the amaro flow and have the most memorable two hours of your trip." - aimee rizzo
"This Italian restaurant in Waitsburg opened in 2022 and last year scored a James Beard Award nomination for Best New Restaurant. It went on “extended hiatus” in June, with owner-chef Mike Easton saying the restaurant was “a success in many, many ways... financial longevity is not necessarily one of them.” After the hiatus Easton took other projects (he took over a fine-dining kitchen at a winery and briefly opened a Detroit-style pizzeria that closed after a few months), and — while remaining the winery kitchen’s executive chef — returned to reopen this small, 18-seat version so he can run the kitchen personally and “keep labor costs low.” “We had full intentions of reopening eventually,” Easton told the Puget Sound Business Journal. “It didn’t feel good closing a restaurant down on the heels of a James Beard best new restaurant in the country nomination.” According to the Business Journal, the restaurant’s first 60 days are almost totally booked out; Easton did not return an email from Eater Seattle seeking comment." - Harry Cheadle
"Previously, I reported that Easton's two-year-old Bar Bacetto in nearby Waitsburg closed reportedly due to financial challenges. Bar Bacetto had received national acclaim — it landed on the New York Times's 2023 list of top 50 restaurants in the U.S. and was a finalist in the James Beard Awards' national Best New Restaurant category in 2024, though it didn't win the prize in June." - Brenna Houck
"I was looking forward to trying out Bar Bacetto after the Waitsburg restaurant nabbed a James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant this year, but owner Mike Easton announced it's on “extended hiatus.” Easton moved east from Seattle and opened Bar Bacetto to widespread acclaim in Waitsburg, yet he told the Seattle Times that while Bar Bacetto was “a success in many, many ways... financial longevity is not necessarily one of them.”" - Harry Cheadle
"If the name Il Corvo rings a bell, that’s because the chef and owner of the now-closed phenomenal Seattle pasta legend moved a few hours east to open this spot in Waitsburg—and it's mandatory to plan dinner here on a trip to Walla Walla. See the chalkboard menu on the wall? Just order the whole damn lot. There’s focaccia so dense and moist it could stand in for birthday cake, paper-thin mortadella dolloped with quince mostarda, and quilted ravioli filled with feta and doused in jammy sungold pulp. It’s not easy to get into this 18-seat stunner, but the hassle becomes worth it when you’re sucked into a happy vortex caused by overconsumption of semolina. Let the amaro flow and have the most memorable two hours of your trip." - Aimee Rizzo
